Railway rail and fastening assembly



June 20, 1967 s, SAMSON 3,326,466

RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l June 20, 1967 V s, s s 3,326,466

RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed May 24; 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS F IG.4 5

FIGS 74 June 20, 1967 s. SANSON 3,326,466

RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 z? 2 F I67 e; a a

June 20, 1967 s. SANSON 3,326,466

RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 20, 1967 s. SANSON RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 24, 1966 729 vim United States Patent Ofiice 3,326,466 Patented June 20, 1967 3,326,466 RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Leopold Stewart Sanson, Surrey, England, assignor to Lockspike Limited, London, England, a British company Filed May 24, 1966, Ser. No. 552,625 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 14, 1965, 43,681/ 65 Claims. (Cl. 238-349) This invention relates to a railway rail and fastening assembly.

According to the invention, there is provided a railway rail and fastening assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper or tie, a flange-footed rail resting crosswise on the sleeper or tie, an anchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper or tie and affording a horizontal passage which is closed at the top and open at least at one end and extends beside the rail and substantially parallel thereto, a fixed unyielding surface which, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of said passage, and a railway rail-fastening member comprising a length of resilient metal having, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion in the form of a substantially straight leg which projects into said one end of said passage, then a second portion, then a third portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on one side of the axis of said first portion, then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on the opposite side of said axis, said third and fifth portions bearing one upon the top of the rail flange and the other upon said surface and one of said second and fourth portions having a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of these portions.

Said fixed unyielding surface may be a portion of the anchorage member. The anchorage member may be incorporated in the sleeper during casting of the sleeper, before the concrete has set, or it may be secured in a hole in the concrete, after the concrete has set, by means of an adhesive.

The words sleeper and tie are synonymous and only the former word is used in the following description.

The term retaining member is also used in some places in this specification to denote the anchorage member.

The rail-fastening member may be of one or the other of two basic shapes. The first, which may for convenience be called a left-hand rail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod form which is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion which constitutes a substantially straight leg, then a second portion, then a third portion, then a fourth portion and then a fifth portion, these portions being such that the rail-fastening member can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the southeast, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in a westerly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion, the construction being such that when the rail-fastening member is in said particular position and is viewed from above the third and fifth portions appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the first portion. The second form of railfastening member, which may for convenience be called a right-hand rail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod form which is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion which constitutes a substantially straight leg, then a second portion, then a third portion, then a fourth portion and then a fifth portion, these portions being such that the rail-fastening member can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in an easterly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion, the construction being such that when the rail-fastening member is in said particular position and is viewed from above the third and fifth portions appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the first portion.

The fourth portion, after extending upwardly and sub stantially in a westerly direction (in the case of a lefthand rail-fastening member) or upwardly and substantially in an easterly direction (in the case of a righthand rail-fastening member) may extend downwardly. The fifth portion of both a left-hand and a righthand rail-fastening member may extend, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

By using above the word substantially in relation to certain directions, we intend to embrace also cases where the true direction departs by as much as 30 on either side from'the indicated direction.

The rail-fastening members are preferably made from spring steel and they are preferably made from rods of circular cross-section at least 4 inch in diameter and,

- in most cases, at least 1 centimetre in diameter.

Examples in accordance with the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a side view of an assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper with two rails secured to it,

FIGURE 2 shows a corresponding side view on a larger scale, of part of the assembly,

FIGURE 3 shows another side view, taken as indicated by the arrow III in FIGURE 2, of the part of the assembly which is shown in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 shows a plan view of a flat sheet metal blank which is used to make part of what is shown in FIGURES 2 and 3,

FIGURE shows a sectional view, taken as indicated by the line and arrows marked V in FIGURE 4, of the blank,

FIGURE 6 shows a view, corresponding to the lefthand end of FIGURE 1, of part of another assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper with two rails secured to it,

FIGURE 7 shows how several blanks, which are to be used to form parts that are as shown in FIGURE 6, can be cut from sheet material,

FIGURE 8 shows a view, corresponding to the lefthand end of FIGURE 1, of part of another assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper with two rails secured to it,

FIGURE 9 shows a blank which is to be used to form part of what is shown in FIGURE 8,

FIGURE 10 shows a view, corresponding to the lefthand end of FIGURE 1, of part of another assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper with two rails secured to it,

FIGURE 11 shows a side view of a left-hand railfastening member, taken as indicated by the arrow X1 in FIGURE 12,

FIGURE 12 shows a side view of the same rail-fastening member, taken as indicated by the arrow XII in FIGURE 11,

FIGURE 13 shows a plan view of the same rail-fastening member, in the attitude in which it is used, and also shows the directions north, south, east and west,

FIGURE 14 shows a view, corresponding to FIGURE 13, of a right-hand rail-fastening member,

FIGURES l5 and 16 are two side views, and FIGURE 17 is a plan view, of part of another railway track assembly, and

FIGURE 18 corresponds to FIGURE and shows a modification of what is shown in FIGURE 15.

FIGURE 1 shows two flange-footed rails 1 resting on rubber pads 2 which are placed on the top of a concrete railway sleeper 3, the rails being parallel and crosswise with respect to the sleeper and spaced apart in accordance with the gauge of the track.

On opposite sides of each rail there are two passages in which are driven substantially straight legs 7, constituting the first portion, of two rail-fastening members of the character mentioned above. Each of these fastening members has its third portion, 8, resting on the rail base or flange and its fifth portion, 9, bearing upon a portion of a retaining member 10.

It will be seen that in each half of the length of the sleeper there are two of the passages spaced apart in the length direction of the sleeper by a distance a little greater than the width of the rail base or flange. Each passage is substantially straight and extends in the width direction of the sleeper and is open at both ends, although each passage could be open at one end only if desired. As can be seen more clearly from FIGURE 2, each passage is formed between the upper surface 11 of the concrete and a portion 12 of a retaining member, which portion 12 for-ms an arch above the surface 11. There are four retaining members in all. Just beyond each of the four arches, considered from the nearest adjacent arch, there is' a further portion 13 which extends parallel to the upper surface of the concrete and incontact with that surface and it is upon this portion 13 that the portion 9 of the fastening member rests.

Each portion 12 of a retaining member and each portion 13 are between two parts 14 and one part 15 of the retaining member, which parts extend into the concrete and were incorporated in it during casting of the sleeper, before the concrete had set.

FIGURES 4 and 5 show one of four flat sheet metal blanks from which the retaining members shown in FIGURE 1 are made, by bending the blanks. The blank could be stamped from sheet metal strip but in. the present case it is cut from sheet metal strip which is 12.7 millimetres thick and 76 millimetres wide, with rounded corners as shown in FIGURE 5. The two parts 14 are rectangular strips, 22 millimetres wide and 32 millimetres apart, and the part 15 is a rectangular strip 32 millimetres wide, the lengths of the parts 14 and 15 being the same. Thus the part 15 of one blank will fit between the parts 14 of another blank. The centre-line of the part 15, when extended to the space between the two parts 14, is equidistant from these parts and so a large number of the blanks can be cut from a long strip of the sheet metal with substantially no wastage, except at the ends of the strip.

FIGURE 6 illustrates one of the two rails 1, the rubber pad 2, the concrete sleeper 3, the portions 7, 8 and 9 of a rail-fastening member of the character mentioned above and a retaining member 10 having the portions 12 and 13 as described above. The retaining member 10 has a leg 16 which is narrower, in the direction parallel to the length of the rail, than the portion 12 and this leg 16 and a part of the portion 12 extend into the concrete. The leg 16 is corrugated, the ridges and furrows extending parallel to the length of the rail. At its other end, the retaining member could terminate above the concrete, below the portion 9 of the rail-fastening member, or it could have an additional portion 17, shown in dotted lines, extending into the concrete.

FIGURE 7 shows several blanks for making retaining members 10 such as the one shown in FIGURE 6. Each blank has a wide rectangular part and a narrower rectangular part, these parts being of the same length and one being twice as wide as the other, one of the shorter sides of one rectangular part adjoining one of the shorter sides of the other rectangular part and both rectangular parts having a common longitudinal centre-line. It will be apparent from FIGURE 7 how such blanks can be cut from sheet metal strip, the width of which is equal to the sum of the lengths of the two rectangular parts, substantially without wastage, except at the ends of the strip. If the additional portion 17 is to 'be provided on each retaining member, both the wide and the narrow rectangular parts are made longer, by equal amounts.

In FIGURE 8, parts which correspond to those described earlier are similarly numbered, Here it will be seen that the portion 13 of the retaining member 10, upon which portion the portion 9 of the rail-fastening member bears, is parallel to the upper surface of the concrete and spaced from it by a little less than the thickness of the sheet metal of which the retaining member is made. As can be seen from FIGURE 9, the blank is rather like that shown in FIGURE 4 but the parts 14 and 15, which project from the central portion of the blank, are tapered in width. Again, the part 15 of one blank can fit in the space between the parts 14 of another blank so that a large number of the blanks can be out from a long strip of sheet metal the width of which is equal to the width of the central portion of the blanks, substantially without wastage of metal, except at the ends of the strip.

FIGURE 10 depicts a case in which the portion 13 of the retaining :member is spaced from the surface 11 of the concrete sleeper by more than the thickness of the sheet metal of which the retaining member is made. The blank for this retaining member could be substantially as shown in any one of FIGURES 4, 7 and. 9.

The sheet metal retaining members could be made of mild steel or of a corrosion-resistant steel such as is sold under the name Cor-Ten (a registered trademark).

Each sheet metal retaining member could be coated, before it is cast in the concrete, with a material that affords protection against corrosion and/or afiords electrical insulation. A suitable material is one sold under the name Vacsol (a registered trademark) and is a cold setting plastic material based upon P.V.C., which affords electrical insulation and protection against corrosion. This material could cover only those parts of the sheet metal retaining members which extend into the concrete but it preferably covers the whole of the sheet metal retaining members.

Each of the assemblies described above could be modified in that the third portion 8 of the rail-fastening member could bear upon the portion 13 of the retaining member and the fifth portion 9 could bear upon the rail flange. If desired, a piece of electrically insulating material, could be placed on the rail flange, part of it lying underneath the portion 8 or the portion 9 of the rail fastening member and part of it extending between the edge of the rail flange and the adjacent sheet metal retaining member.

The present invention is particularly applicable to cases where each retaining member has, just beyond its arch 12, considered from the nearest adjacent arch 12 in the sleeper, a further portion 13 which extends parallel to, or at an inclination of no more than 10 to, the upper surface of the concrete and either in contact with it or spaced from it by no more than the thickness of the sheet metal of which the retaining member is made. However, it will be apparent from FIGURE 10, and the description of it, that the invention is applicable to other cases also.

Referring now to FIGURES 11 to 13, the numbers 21 to 25 respectively denote the first, second, third, fourth and fifth portions, mentioned above, of a rail-fastening member but the numbers 22 and 24 have suffixes to indicate different parts of the second and fourth portions. The first portion 21 is a straight leg and i shown in FIGURE 13 in a horizontal position extending south to north, the end of the leg which constitutes one end of the length of metal being the southern end. Proceeding from the first portion 21 to the third portion 23, the Second portion extends upwardly and to the north at the part marked 22A, upwardly only at the part marked 22B, upwardly and roughly to the south-east at the part marked 22C, horizontally and roughly to the south-east at the part marked 22D, downwardly and roughly to the southeast at the part marked 22E, downwardly only at the part marked 22F and downwardly and to the north at the part marked 226. The third portion 23 is very short and horizontal and, proceeding from the second portion 22 to the fourth portion 24, it extends in a northerly direction. The fourth portion 24, proceeding from the third portion 23 to the fifth portion 25 extends upwardly and to the north at the part marked 24A, then upwardly and to the west at the part marked 24B, then horizontally and to the West at the part marked 24C, then in the part marked 24D, downwardly, first slightly to the north of west, then to the north-west and then to the north. The fifth portion 25 extends horizontally towards the north and terminates at the other end of the length of metal.

If desired, the fourth portion 24 need not have the descending part 24D but could continue horizontally to the fifth portion 25. The fiifth portion 25 could extend, proceeding away from the fourth section 24, towards the south instead of towards the north, in which case the part 24D would be modified to give a smooth transition from the part 24C to the portion 25.

The shape of the right-hand rail-fastening member will be apparent from what has been stated above and from FIGURE 14, in which parts corresponding to those shown in FIGURES 11 to 13 bear the same reference characters. The parts 22C, 22D and 22E extend roughly towards the south-west, proceeding away from the first portion 21, and the parts 24B and 24C extend in substantially an easterly direction proceeding away from the third portion 23- In FIGURES to 17, there is shown the flange 121 of a flange-footed railway rail resting on a rubber pad 122 which is laid on the upper surface 123A of a concrete railway sleeper 123. On the two sides of the rail there are two similar arrangements for holding the rail down, although in FIGURES 15 to 17 this is shown only in the case of the left-hand side. It includes a rail-fastening member or clip as described above and illustrated in FIGURES 11 to 13 of the accompanying drawings. Only three limbs, 7, 8 and 9 of the clip are shown, in dotted lines. These numbers represent the same parts of the clip as they do in FIGURE 1. On the edge of the flange there is placed an electrical insulator consisting of a moulding 124 of nylon or other insulating material of approximately L-shaped cross-section, one limb 125 of which lies on the rail flange and has the limb 9 of the rail clip bearing upon it, whereas the other limb 126 lies against the side of the rail flange and has a recess 30 in it.

An anchorage member that has been cast in a mould is fixed to the sleeper, this member consisting of malleable cast iron and comprising a flat surface 31 lying on the upper surface 123A of the sleeper, a projecting leg 32 extending downwardly into the sleeper, a block portion 33, substantially square as seen in plan, extending upwardly from the surface 31, a concave surface 34 at the top of the block portion 33 and a passage 35 of circular cross-section, having flared mouths 35A, in the block portion 33. The limb 7 of the rail clip is driven in the passage 35 and lies horizontally and presses upwardly on the upper surface of the passage, whereas the limb 8 of the rail clip presses downwardly on the concave surface 34. Part of the block portion 33 lies in the recess 30 in the insulator 124 and this prevents the insulator from sliding along the rail when the clip is being driven into position.

The leg 32 of the anchorage member is formed with protuberances 36 on all four sides and it is cast in the concrete, that is to say incorporated in the concrete before the latter has set. The protuberances could be on only one or some of the sides of the leg 32.

The insulators 124 electrically insulate the rails from the clips, and, owing to the use of the pads 122, the rails are therefore insulated from the sleeper and from one another. The insulators could be used in the constructions described above with reference to FIGURES 1 to 10. The insulators on the edges of the rail flanges could be omitted from the construction of FIGURES 15 to 17 if insulation is not necessary, in which case the limbs 9 of the clips would bear directly upon the rail flanges.

A sleeve of plastics material, for example nylon, could be fitted in each passage 35 and the limb 7 of the corresponding rail clip could be driven into the sleeve.

Where the limb 8 of each clip bears upon the corresponding cast anchorage member, there could be a removable seating, for example of metal or of nylon, which can be removed and replaced by another after considerable wear has taken place.

The width of the block portion 33 of each cast anchorage member in the direction of the length of the rail could be increased and then two or more legs, each with protuberances on one, some of or all sides, could extend downwardly from it and could be fixed in the concrete by being cast in it.

It is possible so to design the fastening members or clips and the cast anchorage members that the part 8 of each fastening member bears upon an insulator 124, or upon a rail flange, and the part 9 bears upon the concave surface 34 or upon an insert in the cast anchorage member or upon a member let into the upper surface of the sleeper.

FIGURE 18 shows how the construction according to FIGURES 15 to 17 may be modified by forming a hole 40 in the concrete sleeper, during casting of the sleeper and then, after the concrete has set, securing the leg 32 of the anchorage member in the hole 40 by means of a suitable adhesive, for example a resin-based adhesive.

I claim: t

1. A railway rail and fastening assembly comprising a concrete railway sleeper or tie, a flange-footed rail resting crosswise on the sleeper or tie, an anchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper or tie and affording a horizontal passage which is closed at the top and open at least at one end and extends beside the rail and substantially parallel thereto, a fixed unyielding surface which, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of said passage, and a railway-fastening memer comprising a length of resilient metal having, progressing from one end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion in the form of a substantially straight leg which projects into said one end of said passage, then a second portion, then a third portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on one side of the axis of said first portion, then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which, when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on the opposite side of said axis, said third and fifth portions bearing one upon the top of the rail flange and the other upon said surface and one of said second and fourth portions having a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of said second or fourth portions.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said railway rail-fastening member is such that it can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in a westerly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in a westerly direction, extends downwardly.

4. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said fifth portion extends, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

5. An assembly according to claim I, wherein said railway rail-fastening member is such that it can be placed in a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one end of the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the first portion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portion towards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in an easterly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion and crosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in an easterly direction, extends downwardly. 7. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fifth portion extends, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to the north.

8. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the anchorage member is one that has been cast in a mould and it comprises a head portion which is formed with said passage above the top of the concrete and at leastone projection which extends downwardly into the concrete and which was incorporated in the concrete during casting of the sleeper or tie before the concrete had set.

9. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the anchorage member is made of sheet metal with at least one part thereof which extends downwardly into the concrete and which was incorporated in the concrete during casting of the sleep or tie before the concrete had set, the anchorage member having another part which forms an arch which provides said passage.

10. An assembly according to claim 1, and further comprising portions of the sleeper or tie forming a hole therein, a portion of said anchorage member projecting into said hole and adhesive in said hole securing said portion to said sleep or tie.

No references cited.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CONCRETE RAILWAY SLEEPER OR TIE, A FLANGE-FOOTED RAIL RESTING CROSSWISE ON THE SLEEPER OR TIE, AN ANCHORAGE MEMBER FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE SLEEPER OR TIE AND AFFORDING A HORIZONTAL PASSAGE WHICH IS CLOSED AT THE TOP AND OPEN AT LEAST AT ONE END AND EXTENDS BESIDE THE RAIL AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL THERETO, A FIXED UNYIELDING SURFACE WHICH, AS SEEN FROM THE RAIL, IS DISPOSED OUTWARD OF SAID PASSAGE, AND A RAILWAY-FASTENING MEMBER COMPRISING A LENGTH OF RESILIENT METAL HAVING, PROGRESSING FROM ONE END OF THE LENGTH OF METAL TO THE OTHER, A FIRST PORTION IN THE FORM OF A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT LEG WHICH PROJECTS INTO SAID ONE END OF SAID PASSAGE, THEN A SECOND PORTION, THEN A THIRD PORTION WHICH, WHEN THE ASSEMBLY IS VIEWED FROM ABOVE, APPEARS TO BE ON ONE SIDE OF THE AXIS OF SAID FIRST PORTION, THEN A FOURTH PORTION, THEN A FIFTH PORTION WHICH, WHEN THE ASSEMBLY IS VIEWED FROM ABOVE, APPEARS TO BE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID AXIS, SAID THIRD AND FIFTH PORTIONS BEARING ONE UPON THE TOP OF THE RAIL FLANGE AND THE OTHER UPON SAID SURFACE AND ONE OF SAID SECOND AND FOURTH PORTIONS HAVING A PART WHICH CROSSES AND LIES ABOVE A PART OF THE OTHER OF SAID SECOND OR FOURTH PORTIONS. 